Facts. "Dough" was in common use until the 2000s. I'm considered an "Elder millennial" and "dough" was always slang for money. Ritzy was also common, as were a few others (and even if uncommon, I grew up knowing the meaning of all of these terms)
@@1D991 I knew pretty much all of these, I'm only 21. But where I grew up we also had WAY older (early modern English) speaking habits. Real fringe religious part of the ozarks.
I've noticed that a lot of relatively current slang is stuff I heard growing up in the hood back in the 90s. Stuff like bet, dope, cap, lit, strapped, thicc, etc
@@lizaanual9166 we literally have a society that thinks men can identify as women and enter women's bathrooms and compete in girls sports. not to mention being gay is taught to kids like its something to aspire to. Most males unlike the 1920s are beta or feminine.
Me too. I try to tell my boomer coworkers(some are younger than you'd think) that language evolves and what you identify with pissed the old generation off and now you're old. They don't get it.
@@Qrayon "Yeet" can be used as a verb meaning "throw", or simply as an expression you say while throwing something. "Boof", as of right now, means a joint, as in "pass me the boof", although it's definitely not limited to that definition. What "boof" means can completely depend on the context you are using it in.
My mother, who died at 94 in 2018, was fond of the word "pill" meaning someone who was a dud or not very lively, at party or such. "She's a real pill, that one!" Thanks for a great video! I knew every one of the phrases!
My mom used the same term she'll be 93 in September. My grandparents and my parents used many of these terms so I'm familiar with the terms, my mom always referred to us as a bunch of ragamuffins and sometimes as crumbsnatchers
Me too! Dad: 1925, Mom: 1926. I also got a good dose of 1890s-1910s slang from my grandmother, born 1891. I still use some of these expressions, just for fun.
As a hepster it's cool to see the younger generation latch on to the older jive. Just *one* thing i've gotta blow steam on: Louis Armstrong was born in the Battlefield in New Orleans, French Creole country, so you don't pronounce the S in his name. Say it like "Louie" if you want to be solid.
Dough 1:16 Vamp 1:49 Sheik 2:30 And how! 3:34 Putting on the ritz 4:13 Ragamuffin 4:58 Tomato 5:39 Wet Blanket 6:18 Whoopie 6:58 Fried 7:40 Bump off 8:20 Cheaters 8:55 Hot 9:19 Hock 10:04 Petting Party 10:48 Bob 11:29 Heebie Jeebies 12:20 Thanks for watching! 14:09 I just needed to make a list to quickly pull these out whenever lol
At least half of these have heavily lasted through the times..as an early 90’s baby, only a few of these I hadn’t heard growing up with my grandmothers 😀
She was IT, wasn't she? But then that ragamuffin just had to go and pull out his heater on ya. He was all wet because that was his wife, see? Good thing Mugsey showed up and bounced him up on out of there. Don't worry about it. CHECKERS! THE COPS! RUN!
"Dough" is actually dough though. It's related to the older slang term "bread," which itself comes from the Cockney Rhyming Slang "bread and honey" for money
A few more I remember: Being drunk was "sauced" No was "nix" Stopping something was "putting the kibosh on it" A pistol was a "rod" or "heater" A hairpiece was "rug" A hat was a "lid" A boxer was a "palooka" Women were "dames" Getting killed was "iced" Gangsters were "heavies" Dice were "bones" A bag was a "poke" Keep quiet was "put a lid on it" or "zip it" A machine gun was a "Tommy gun" or a "typewriter" Running from the law was "on the lam" Money was "moolah" A lawyer was a "mouthpiece"
"Poke" (bag) isn't really slang as such. It's the anglicized spelling of the French word "poque" - which means the same thing. A small poque (informally "poquette") is where we get the word "pocket." On the other hand, some think that the slang (now accepted in common speech) word "poach" came from this same term - since a thief or unlawful hunter would conceal their goods in a poke, to avoid casual notice.
I have a high school yearbook from the 1930s. The word "swell" was used a lot in the things kids wrote in the yearbook. I guess that was used in the 1920s too.
I saw my dad’s early-fifties high school yearbook, and almost everyone wrote: “To a swell guy...” These days, it seems like “swell” is mostly used a bit sarcastically, as in “I spilled coffee on my shirt! Isn’t that just swell?”
@@AAM29290 - I tried to find the origin of “swell” and I couldn’t find anything, but I bet it comes from “so well” as you said. I think it’s a fun word, and I’m glad you are helping keeping it alive. I’m sixty, and I remember adults using the word “swell” to mean “good” when I was a boy. I think “swell” started to be replaced with other words (in California at least) in the late sixties. Words for “good” change with every new generation because kids like to have their own vocabulary that is different from adults. When I was in high school, one word for “good” was “gnarly”, which was immortalized in the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. I bet the word “swell” (as an adjective) is VERY old, so, I bet that it has had many periods of heavy usage over the centuries, and I bet it will become common again.
My Grandfather Henry used to say “.....since Christ lost his shoes in the Sinai Desert.....” to denote a long passage of time. As in: “I haven’t seen that guy since Christ lost his shoes in the Sinai Desert.” My sister and I still use that phrase and laugh every time. He had a lot of great bits. He was born in 1890.
I LOVE you trying to decipher TRUE slang of the day vs what has become more desirable. It can come off as more making fun of an era. Thank you! this feels like true historian work.
Same in Italy, we use it as a common response, we say "Eccome" (which is an attached version of the two words "E" and "come" translated in english as "And" & "How") Maybe the american slang word came from our europeans common saying during the great immigrations of our ancestors
My grandmother had a two part brooch from the 20s. It was a silver piece that said GEE and a tiny chain connected to another piece that said WIZZ. I asked her where she got it. She said it was on a dress she bought in the 1930s. In hard times they would put free jewelry on dresses to make them more attractive. I HAVE THIS BROOCH TO THIS DAY. And still think about what a new and fresh flapper phrase it once was. AW GEE WIZZ!!!
Got to make that dough, Shes a bit of a Vamp and will suck you dry, Dressing like the Rits, Hes a bit of a ragamuffin, She is a Hot tomato, He is a bit of a wet blanket, selling hot goods, Giving Me Heebie Geebies, Shes definitely got IT, these are all thinks someone from England in there 30s will still say today.
@@-.__328 thats what makes us truly unique. We are capable of creation and destruction unlike any other creature on this planet . But don’t focus on the bad cus theres ALOT of it . Focus on the good of humanity cus thats what true humanity is , helping others and creating a community for all.
I don't know about 'sussy' but I know that 'amongus' is just a funny word some people use, 'baka' is a japanese word for 'idiot' or 'dumb' it also died off in 2018 or 2019 because I can't find anyone who uses it unironically today, 'poggers' is a word for 'very good' and it became popular with the twitch streamer Tommyinnit.
I was boirn in 1970, and I'm pretty sure they are both used. I mean, maybe they are dated, but would a kid today need a TH-cam video to actually explain it?
My mom was 92 when she passed away, she was funny, when someone rang the doorbell she would say "who DAT" and when she and when she picked up the phone she said "who dis" it was great.
The word vamp has had two other meanings over the years. Jazz musicians used it to mean "A short, simple introductory passage", and graffiti artists in '80s New York used to use it to mean mugging someone. There was even a graffiti crew who called themselves The Vamp Squad.
@@LuckyCharms777that’s not what it means Vamp vamp life or vampin is just a person who up at night and sleeps in the day just like a vampire Nightlife people
Especially the architecture and interior design. One of my favorite places in the world is the Little America hotel in SLC. As soon as you walk in it's like stepping back in time and it's so warm and comfortable even during the rough winter months.
That pic of the “bobbed” hairstyles was wonderful! As a 73YO gal with naturally curly hair - of course I lusted after those straight, smooth styles…but was consigned my entire life with the crimps, curls, swirls and frizz that my now Very Fancy grey hair has lived thru…and triumphed over…Curly Girls Rule!! Thank you for this fun adventure back into “cool speak”!,
@@jillian.x..When I was little I wore ponytails and braids to control my hair andI forced my locks straight during the late ‘60’s to have a “Beatle Bob”…thanks to my sister being a hairdresser…and my hair was Shirley Temple quality curly so didn’t have much chance to combine sophisticated smooth, chic hair with Soft, easy curls! My hair is still actually wildly curly - and the humidity in North Carolina adjust is just NOT helping at all!💙
Linguistics is a fascinating topic. So many of these slang terms still exist today, but have slightly or totally different meanings. This was very Hot and 23 scaddoll.
Old Karen: Back in my day we didn’t have slang. 1920’s teenager: ok wet blanket Edit: this comment is a joke, it funny. Stop trying to disprove my claim because there isn’t any.
I have my great grandmothers high school year book and the best part is all the slang terms written by other students "youre the tops" and "to a fellow jitterbug" are my favs- slang through out the years is so interesting
@@nonameman9291 settle down there cool music nerd. You’re obviously old enough to know the song, yet have the temperament of a basement dwelling duche bag. I was only like 13 when the 80’s remake of this song came out. I was definitely not listening to raído friendly shit, I.e. this song. I simply wrote the first thing closest to this, I remembered at 12-15 years old. You are everything you hate about yourself when you glance at yourself in your mirror. Now go have mommy make you some Mac & cheese. FYI, I’m a history professor, and the 20’s are not my emphasis. You internet nerd.
This was reallly cool & informative to me as I take care of patients who were born in the 1920s & 1930s. I used the slang I picked up on this video to them & it’s starts a great conversation about their times being young and growing up! They often remember all the terms and start glowing and reminiscing back to those times..I always end the conversation by telling them they were much cooler back then than we are now and they get a kick out of that & agree with me! 🙂
*a Hater of God, Sodo, (Brian McMiLLan) & a DeMonicRat Voter, sent Me, this Message ->* *Quote=> Discuss it? w. MaryAnn when the Great god Jehovah pairs (R.R.) up on GiL's Isle* *in the Sky . . . & PLeae seek HeLp!* [ End Quote from the Demo Sodo ]! *Love the part about JeHoVah GOD Pairing me up with Mary Ann, for ETERnity!!!* *But, of Course this Demo Sodo was FAKE & You Read its END ReMark!!!* *NOW YOU KNOW why, in just 3-months, I'LL be Voting Every RePubLiCan on My BaLLot!!!*
i will never forget my early childhood. i was born in 1995 and I had the honor and privilege of meeting people born in early 1900s and I remember like yesterday, it was 2002, meeting a woman who was born in 1902. She told me to "keep your ideas open and enjoy living in the future" because we're living in the times she wished she could have. It didn't hit me until recently when i'm in my late 20's to see what she actually meant by that.
I always liked the phrases, "The bees knees" and "The cat's pajamas/meow" meaning to hold something or someone in high esteem. Also the phrase, "I'll say" as in "I'll say she is" meaning emphatically agreeing with someone. "It's a cinch" or "A piece of cake" as in that's easy. "Blow this joint" to leave. "the lowdown" information. "Say" always starts a sentence to emphasize something. As in, "Say, that's a beautiful girl." I really think the '20's and '30's were the birth of slang.
@@ShortBusScotty 23 Skidoo. That was a Policemens term, first used by a Police officer to a bunch of loiterers on, if all places, 23rd St. Meaning, you've got to clear off of 23rd St. No loitering allowed. True story. I was surprised when I first read it. Thought it was way to contrived to be believed, but that is the story. And that's how that frase got born.
@zorian. When the Flatiron Building was built at the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, New York City in 1902, it was discovered that its triangular shape caused a wind tunnel effect at its base that blew women's skirts up almost to their knees--a sight that attracted many a young man to hang around the building hoping to get a glimpse of forbidden body parts such as female ankles and calves!!! Although the expressions "23" and "skiddoo" (both meaning roughly "get outta here" or (another 20's slang term!) "Scram") had arisen separately a few years prior to the building, there's no doubt that the cops used them both in rousting the would-be "mashers" from ogling the free show--hence this apocryphal attribution of the origin of "23 skiddoo"! It sure makes a great story though!!!
Not really. language evolves. If you could travel back 500 years you'd likely only understand about half the words people spoke. People would think your an ignoramus. Well more people would.
Tomato was used in the 1990's crime drama "The Grifters" starring John Cusack, Annette Bening and Angelica Houston, based on the Jim Thompson novel. The Bening character uses it to describe herself. I've heard it rarely used in real life. Most of the rest of these are in common use to various degrees and I've used them myself. Petting parties was stlll around when I was a young teen in the 1970's but I haven't heard it since. Vamp is pretty unusual. Sheik is only used with respect to the condom of the same name, since we have far more experience with Islamic Arabs than they did then, mostly negative. You did give me the info to understand the title of the play and 1950's film "Come Back Little Sheba" with Burt Lancaster. I've heard Sheba used by some older black men to describe a queenly black woman, by not by younger men. "It" was generally replaced in the 1960's by "charisma" which is still used, though it's echoed in phrases like "She's got it!" and "you've either got it or you don't".
The 1920s was the era the slang "cool" came into use as well, specifically because of Calvin Cooliage, the 30th American president. Because Calvin was unflappable, aloof, strict, sharp, and stayed out of the political mud, the first part of his last name became a shorthand to refer to someone as steady, smooth, sly, and fashionable.
I'm a Brit in my 30s - most of these are familiar to me! Many still used in Britain to this day even if they're old-fashioned and might be used more jokingly. I'd never heard glasses called "cheaters" though! Oh, and I've always seen "hock" as "hawk"
We can't neglect how later generations alluded back to some of the earlier slang in the comedy of their own time, such as the law firm Dewey, Cheatem & Howe in the Three Stooges. One of my favs has always been "that's Jake" (roughly translated to "that's cool"), and reintroduced into the 1970s lexicon in the wildly successful movie "The Sting", and mostly used by Robert Redford in dialog.
Fun fact regarding the exclamation "and how!" mentioned here: In German, we have an equivalent exclamation, "und wie!", which is the exact same phrase, translated directly word by word. And it is used in the exact same manner and context. It has gone out of fashion over the past few decades, but it is still very recognizable and doesn't sound off to a German speaker.
To add onto the polish guy's comment: Southern Slavic languages have this too. We say "И то како!" Or alternatively we use the full variation of the middle word to get "И тоа како!" We like to shorten words a lot so the first one would probably be more common.
also we have the word "verhökern" which directly translates to the slang word "hock". And it is also used as slang. I wonder if we adapted the american phrases, or if the influences came by german ancestors. I fear we will never know :D
My Grandma was born in 1910, left us in 1981. She would still say "Well, she just thinks she's the cat's pajamas." She taught my mom how to dance the Charleston in the kitchen in the 1950's. I so miss the old folks...
I though the phrase “wet blanket” came from how uncomfortable a wet blanket would be, it being wet turned it from being soft comfortable and warm into something wet and cold. I just imagined a wet blanket among normal blankets, or laying in a bed and getting a wet blanket instead of a dry one. I guess I haven’t really thought about it since I was a kid.
Or in England you could call a person “moist” meaning weak, soggy, soft. Great slang is great and sticks because they transcend many multiple implications and shows our gift of abstract communication which is exclusively the way our human species communicates
Trekkie Junk language is made up of abstract clusters called words. Each word is made up of abstract symbols called letters. Context further ads to the flexibility abstraction makes of them. Like saying “The tree has no bark.” Or “the dog has no bark”
@@trekkiejunk I think the point is that language itself is abstract, it can be used to convey concrete things but really the true power of it is that it can be used to describe anything, whether it exists concretely or not, and as concretely or abstractly as one may want. Although furthermore, I think you misinterpreted "exclusively the way our human species communicates" as it being the exclusive way we communicate, when I think he more likely meant that we, exclusively, communicate using language in such a manner, as opposed to any other species.
Sheep44 Dialect also evolves slowly throughout, and the youth using their slang as apart of newer language that feels timely and like their own and adopting a updated dialect to communicate with their peers and know whose familiar. That flexibility allows for such communication breakdowns and restructures to go on. “Water needs to flow to stay fresh” ☯️👈
I was born in the late 60s, all of these are not new to me and I think other than the people born after 1990s are easily recognized. These slang words have lasted longer than slang of today Slang of today goes out fashion in years not decades and decades. Good video!
I was born in the early 50s & as teens we used mostly all these idioms. Except tomato & sheik. Queen of Sheba was an insult about another female that thought they were hot. I just called someone a ragamuffin a few days ago.
@@canskasapaemanon708 Maybe not this song so much but that era... Were we there or in some strange way tied to it? That time does pull me. One of life's mysteries... Take care friend...
I like seeing the footage of Buster Keaton, one of the GREATS of the silent film era. Both he and Charlie Chaplin lived to see a resurgence of appreciation of their artful work during the 1960s. Many, many silent films are WORTH watching. Thank you.
This was so long ago. My granny was born in the 20s. Sadly we don't have much time left with her but that period was so long ago yet still quite modern in many ways
This made me feel ancient lol. As a “War” baby..: I heard these terms all the time. In the Deep South a lot of these are still very much in use. This was a charming video... thanks.
I'm not dismissing your suggestion, but as a southern Mississippian, I can't recall many of these being used at all. Of course, the deep south can be referring to many other areas as well, so this could be a regional thing. Off the subject, I remember the term "and how" being used in the 90's rendition of "The Little Rascal's" and I was very confused at this response that Darla gave to Alfalfa.
@@ReasonBeing25 Hey Mark... I am from New Orleans.... any deeper South and I’ll be neck deep in the Gulf lol. I may also be older than you. New Orleans is such a melting pot and we have always had people traveling through from the North and Europe so out language structure is a bit different than most Southern cities. We still use bastardized French.... silver paper-tin foil... make groceries-going to the store.... Shoop de shoo- Merry go round .... banket-sidewalk and our beloved neutral ground- the meridian. I could spend all day on this subject... New Orleans will is a world of its own. Be blessed
My impression is that "ragamuffin" only referred to poor children, never to adults. Also, his name may have always been spelled "Louis" Armstrong but it was always pronounced "Louie".
Rag-a-muffin is definitely a child wearing rag-like clothes. Louie is just the shortened, knick-name of the formal Louis. The city St. Louis is often called St. Louie.
@@tallboy2234 It wouldn’t sound remotely formal to pronounce the name of any of the kings of France called ‘Louis’ as ‘Lewis’ when it should be ‘Loo-ee’. Louis Spence, Louis Theroux and Louis Walsh are British and Irish celebrities who are always called ‘Loo-ee’, it’s only in America where ‘Louis’ is normally pronounced ‘Lewis’ (though ‘Louis Armstrong’ is occasional called ‘Lewis’ outside of America by people who are consciously trying to pronounce his name in the way that he, himself, said it.).
"Vamp" was short for "vampire", a folkloric creature that can drain a human of his/her "vital essence" and subsume them to its will--and if that isn't love, as the song goes, it will have to do... Thanks for the great video; the visual elements especially!
I'm 65, but grew up with collectible 78's, play the ukulele, love B&W movies, and studied Tin Pan Alley songsters. Nothing new for me, but great to see!
idk why everyone is replying saying “not so much.” I have called people a wet blanket and heard it used commonly my whole life. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
A couple phrases my aunt used to use, e.g., “she laid him out in lavender”. Hollered at him. I found out later this stemmed from lining coffins with lavender. Another was “Oh! I feel ( or look) like I’ve been pulled through a knothole backwards”. It always cracked me up envisioning it.
here in England I've heard my grandmother exclaim I "look like I were dragged through a hedge backwards". A knothole is way more interesting and inventive though!
@@AdamOwenBrowning "Looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards" is what my mum used to tell me from when I was a little lad until I was in my 20s. As an Australian born in the mid 1960s we used a lot of English slang.
Slang in the 20s: “My goodness! What a sheik, I would certainly spend my dough on him!” Slang in the 90s: “Woah, bro! He is one tubular dude! I’d splash some cash on him!”
we have it in Russian too, it sounds like "A kak!", or "i kak!", but it very rarely used on its own, usually you would want to put a verb that relates to the topic right after the expression
What a...really NICE video! Thank you. Many of these slang terms were used by us hippies in the 1960s and onward, because we liked old-time things and related better to our flapper grandmothers than to our Betty Crocker mothers. That clip of Felix the Cat getting drunk was a treat-- another thing brought back and cherished by the young Boomers was this early pre-Disney cartoon style. Super cool. (Mickey was a mouse because Felix had the cat market cornered by the time Disney came around.) We hippies were rebelling against plastic, which was '60s slang for fake, contrived, antiseptic kitsch... ironic because our flapper grandmothers thought plastic, brand new, was the bees' knees.
King Tut's tomb was discovered in the early 20's and I think that had a huge influence on the culture in America and worldwide. The Sheik of Araby was also a hugely popular song in 1921/1922 which was later covered numerous times well into the 30s and 40s.
The truly funny thing is I'm only 52 and yet I've used almost every one of these slang terms my entire life.......my grandparents on both sides were born in the 1890's and my parents were born in 1928 and 1930, and I was the last one of seven total children. Mom was 38 and dad was 40 when I came along. My oldest sister is 19 years older than I. I guess you could say my family is an old family and I grew up hearing and being taught all the old phrases and slang!
@Katelynne Shouse: Same here with the 1920s slang! I'm also in my early 50s and my parents (of blessed memory) were born in 1929 and 1934...I remember my mother singing gems such as "Jeepers, Creepers, Where'd You Get Those Peepers?" to me and my siblings when we were little. 💕
I've honestly heard every single one of these used in regular conversation during my life. I think language doesn't change as much as you think it does.
Some of this slang - such as “cheaters” - is regionalized slang. It’s also worth noting that a lot of this slang would not have been used everywhere during the time. Rural areas might use different slang for the same thing or might not have a slang term for the thing.
I don't think of "cheaters" as regionalized, the phrase was commonly used in movies, into the talking picture area and beyond, so it would have been in common usage across North America, although whenever I've heard it, it specifically refers to sunglasses, not regular eyeglasses. In that sense, you're trying to hide your eyes, or perhaps even disguise yourself, which is where the "cheating" comes into play.
@@moxievision I hate to be the one to break this to you but Nth America IS a 'region', ergo slang the usage of which is limited to Nth America IS regionalised. Contrary to popular American insular opinion, the USA / Nth America is NOT 'the world'.
@@BlueShadow777 if you are attempting to correct me about what would be an oh so subtle technicality, I don't believe the correction is necessary because due to its fallacious nature. 'Hot', even in slang from now and 100 years ago is an adjective. Never a noun, which it would have to be in order to be referring to the actual items. It refers to a quality of the items. I welcome a good argument or proof that I'm wrong. Also I apologize if I totally misread your comment
Slang terms used in specific circles or specific purposes don’t change much over the years and terms that many people use change more rapidly. So a “hot car” can mean “stolen car” for a hundred years but no one has said a drunk person was “tight” since your grandparents were born
@@timotheoszmudski4426 can you use “hot” in a sentence in context to what you explained? I’m not sure I’ve heard hot used for something that was stolen.
The term “Cheater” is still used in the welding trade, a cheater is a magnified lense inserted into your helmet to magnify what is seen, typically used by older welders with bad eyesight.
![How to be Pretty - 1940's Guide for High School Girls [in Restored Colour ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NdzJfiQSh7c/mqdefault.jpg)
From dough(1920) to bread(2020) it only took a hundred years to rise.
That takes a lot of crust, but you're on a roll.
Bread goes back to at least the sixties
Good morning kings, let’s get this bread 🍞
if its hot/stolen $ isit toast
@@garyzimmer8061 😁👍🏾 good one!
I swear, the internet made slang culture speed up exponentially. We go through a decades worth in about 3 months.
Facts. "Dough" was in common use until the 2000s. I'm considered an "Elder millennial" and "dough" was always slang for money. Ritzy was also common, as were a few others (and even if uncommon, I grew up knowing the meaning of all of these terms)
@@1D991 Damn I forgot about "dough"
@@1D991 I knew pretty much all of these, I'm only 21.
But where I grew up we also had WAY older (early modern English) speaking habits. Real fringe religious part of the ozarks.
I've noticed that a lot of relatively current slang is stuff I heard growing up in the hood back in the 90s.
Stuff like bet, dope, cap, lit, strapped, thicc, etc
@@1D991 yeah but even in the 2000s it was uncommon for someone to say dough.
I just realized, we ARE in the 20s. When I'm old, I'm gonna be like "remember the 20s?"
OH SHIT YEAH
Except our era is gay af.
@HN 😂
Nah, the 1920s was gay af too.. It has never left.
@@lizaanual9166 we literally have a society that thinks men can identify as women and enter women's bathrooms and compete in girls sports. not to mention being gay is taught to kids like its something to aspire to. Most males unlike the 1920s are beta or feminine.
I do love how slang evolves, and I particularly love how much slang actually carries over to today.
It's interesting that we are living in our own 20s.. kinda cool really🤣
"cool" being a good example.@@xavierharvey4961
Me too. I try to tell my boomer coworkers(some are younger than you'd think) that language evolves and what you identify with pissed the old generation off and now you're old. They don't get it.
i wonder what all the people in these pictures are up to i would love to meet them they probably have so many stories now from that time.
What is even more cool is idioms. Almost all of which came from the Bible....
In 2120 there will be a video like this discussing the meanings of "bruh", "lit", "yeet", "boof", and so on.
What do "yeet" and "bouf" mean?
@@Ajz092 I guess we'll have to wait until 2120.
@@Qrayon "Yeet" can be used as a verb meaning "throw", or simply as an expression you say while throwing something. "Boof", as of right now, means a joint, as in "pass me the boof", although it's definitely not limited to that definition. What "boof" means can completely depend on the context you are using it in.
@@sudonim7552 Thank you.
BOOF means to administer drugs through your rectum. Look it up if u don’t believe me.
My mother, who died at 94 in 2018, was fond of the word "pill" meaning someone who was a dud or not very lively, at party or such. "She's a real pill, that one!" Thanks for a great video! I knew every one of the phrases!
My mom was the same age group as yours, and always called me a "pill" when I was being overly active and talkative.
Mom used to say that too. And another was - I've got more aches and pains then a bottle of Carters pills. Lol
My mom used the same term she'll be 93 in September. My grandparents and my parents used many of these terms so I'm familiar with the terms, my mom always referred to us as a bunch of ragamuffins and sometimes as crumbsnatchers
A pill is someone who is hard to take. A card on the other hand would be someone fun to play along with.
That poor sap" my dad would say
Man, you made me feel old. I am 62 and was raised by my Grandparents, so I heard a lot of these words in use.
@Average Joe I hope you didn't hear the word woopie ever being used XD
your profile picture makes me happy
Damn
I am 63 and my PARENTS said those things and so do I and many of my friends. My parents were born in the 1930s.
Noice you're 62 and you have Spawn as your profile pic it's nice seeing the older generation with stuff like that
My father was born in 1926. I heard the slang of the 30's and 40's throughout my entire childhood.
Me too- my mom was born 1920 and my dad 1927
Lol me too.
Me too! Dad: 1925, Mom: 1926. I also got a good dose of 1890s-1910s slang from my grandmother, born 1891. I still use some of these expressions, just for fun.
I’ve grown up watching movies and shows from the 40-50’s, so that’s where I slang comes from 😂 people think it’s rather silly but I like me 🤷🏻♀️
Same, only it’s my maternal grandfather (mom’s dad), born on February 9, that year!
People in the 20’s: Begone *V A M P*
vamp anthem vamp anthem vamp anthem vamp anthem
Let Bygones be bygones! I always say that!
@@clarkclaps4547 sometimes you can see the replies before seeing the replies
Please bring back VAMP
Sounds like a better word. Vamp. Ha
I’m surprised how many are still in reasonably common usage.
And how!
@@hojo70 Get out more and meet some friends, talk to strangers. Do something with your life.
@@donnybrook8824 Are you having a bad day, and it makes you feel better to take it out on others?
@@barbarak2836 90% of these words are still common. Education must be dead.
@J And how?
1920: In the future, we'll have flying cars!
2021: Let's bring back 1920's slang!
well, this was published in 2020, but i get your joke
We have made a flying car already
Pretty much all of the, "1920'sslang," is used today.
@@shiruki8974 Yeah There Is One In Slovakia I Believe. It Is A Small Aircraft That When On The Ground Transforms Into A Car
We actually have a flying car, they are still in testing though. Lol
As a hepster it's cool to see the younger generation latch on to the older jive.
Just *one* thing i've gotta blow steam on: Louis Armstrong was born in the Battlefield in New Orleans, French Creole country, so you don't pronounce the S in his name. Say it like "Louie" if you want to be solid.
Fun Fact: "Slang" is a slang word for Shortened Language 😉
🤯
Jesus loves you he died for your sins repent and have faith to be saved
you shouldn't write "an slang" it's "a slang"
@@jerrycurl637 unless your Jeremy Clarkson
@@jerrycurl637 grammar police🤢
Dough 1:16
Vamp 1:49
Sheik 2:30
And how! 3:34
Putting on the ritz 4:13
Ragamuffin 4:58
Tomato 5:39
Wet Blanket 6:18
Whoopie 6:58
Fried 7:40
Bump off 8:20
Cheaters 8:55
Hot 9:19
Hock 10:04
Petting Party 10:48
Bob 11:29
Heebie Jeebies 12:20
Thanks for watching! 14:09
I just needed to make a list to quickly pull these out whenever lol
thanks
Forgot it
@@StrawbearXD forgot what?
@@AmphetaminisedGavid the word it
@@StrawbearXD the word what?
Thank you, I’ll be needing this when I time travel
Mind where do we meet before wards
And how!
Lets crash wall street again
quantum entanglement is a helluva drug.
Same
At least half of these have heavily lasted through the times..as an early 90’s baby, only a few of these I hadn’t heard growing up with my grandmothers 😀
Same age, and I hear them all the time from people even younger than me. 😂
I spent dough getting this tomato fried. We were about to make whoopi until a wet blanket dampened the mood.
I’m just going to pretend I don’t know what you mean.
She was IT, wasn't she? But then that ragamuffin just had to go and pull out his heater on ya. He was all wet because that was his wife, see? Good thing Mugsey showed up and bounced him up on out of there. Don't worry about it. CHECKERS! THE COPS! RUN!
Robert James Johnson and Emma Harris weren't just making love: they were making Whoopi!
(Look the names up if you don't get it.)
@@SteveFrenchWoodNStuff I see what you did there! 🖖😊
She was the bee’s knees, eh?
I grew up with this vintage slang. I recognize all of it. My grandmother used it, my parents used it and I’ve used it. I’m 65 years old.
Have you passed on the slang to your kids?
That's swell!
Awesome
I’m 62 and I recognize a lot of this slang. “And how” is a term I heard my parents say many times and I picked it up as a kid.
@@jaylyn1471 I totally see what you did there.
Another "dough" reference - "doe" for deerskin, common currency in frontier America, "buck" = a buckskin = $1.
@GODWIN VINCENT GEVICE Moe I didn't.... I mean I knew about bucks meaning money but I didn't know the origin of it
@GODWIN VINCENT GEVICE Moe neither did I dickbag
@GODWIN VINCENT GEVICE Moe yeah, me either dumbass
"Dough" is actually dough though. It's related to the older slang term "bread," which itself comes from the Cockney Rhyming Slang "bread and honey" for money
A buck can actually be $1 to 1,000,000 or more depending on context.
A few more I remember:
Being drunk was "sauced"
No was "nix"
Stopping something was "putting the kibosh on it"
A pistol was a "rod" or "heater"
A hairpiece was "rug"
A hat was a "lid"
A boxer was a "palooka"
Women were "dames"
Getting killed was "iced"
Gangsters were "heavies"
Dice were "bones"
A bag was a "poke"
Keep quiet was "put a lid on it" or "zip it"
A machine gun was a "Tommy gun" or a "typewriter"
Running from the law was "on the lam"
Money was "moolah"
A lawyer was a "mouthpiece"
I know lots of slang terms for money. Dough, loot, bread, moolah, and cash.
My grandparents were born in 1915 and 1916 and sauced was definitely the word they used for being drunk!
"Poke" (bag) isn't really slang as such. It's the anglicized spelling of the French word "poque" - which means the same thing. A small poque (informally "poquette") is where we get the word "pocket."
On the other hand, some think that the slang (now accepted in common speech) word "poach" came from this same term - since a thief or unlawful hunter would conceal their goods in a poke, to avoid casual notice.
@@melissacooper4282 clams,whampum, lettuce,scratch,show cards,etc...
Drunk; "you could get paralyzed for 15 cents" -Ethyl Waters, 'The New Jump Steady Ball' 1929
I have a high school yearbook from the 1930s. The word "swell" was used a lot in the things kids wrote in the yearbook. I guess that was used in the 1920s too.
I saw my dad’s early-fifties high school yearbook, and almost everyone wrote: “To a swell guy...”
These days, it seems like “swell” is mostly used a bit sarcastically, as in “I spilled coffee on my shirt! Isn’t that just swell?”
@@thetooginator153 I use swell all the time instead of saying it went “so well”
@@AAM29290 - I tried to find the origin of “swell” and I couldn’t find anything, but I bet it comes from “so well” as you said. I think it’s a fun word, and I’m glad you are helping keeping it alive.
I’m sixty, and I remember adults using the word “swell” to mean “good” when I was a boy. I think “swell” started to be replaced with other words (in California at least) in the late sixties. Words for “good” change with every new generation because kids like to have their own vocabulary that is different from adults. When I was in high school, one word for “good” was “gnarly”, which was immortalized in the movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”.
I bet the word “swell” (as an adjective) is VERY old, so, I bet that it has had many periods of heavy usage over the centuries, and I bet it will become common again.
Well isn't that swell?
TheTooginator I feel like these days “swell” is seen as fancy/old way of saying good, like if it was from Shakespeare’s time
My Grandfather Henry used to say “.....since Christ lost his shoes in the Sinai Desert.....” to denote a long passage of time. As in: “I haven’t seen that guy since Christ lost his shoes in the Sinai Desert.” My sister and I still use that phrase and laugh every time. He had a lot of great bits. He was born in 1890.
Since king hatchet was a young boy! Have you heard of this one?
@@ferdelance6801 Never heard it but that’s a great one.
Since day dot.
Since Christ was a cowboy...lol
I always loved “As old as Methuselahs mother” and “ I don’t know him from Adams house cat”
I LOVE you trying to decipher TRUE slang of the day vs what has become more desirable. It can come off as more making fun of an era. Thank you! this feels like true historian work.
i wonder what all the people in these pictures are up to i would love to meet them they probably have so many stories now from that time.
In germany the translation of "and how" is commonly used today. "Und wie"
Same in the Netherlands, we use it a lot! En hoe!
Also in Czechia. "A jak!" is still commonly used even today.
Same in Italy, we use it as a common response, we say "Eccome" (which is an attached version of the two words "E" and "come" translated in english as "And" & "How")
Maybe the american slang word came from our europeans common saying during the great immigrations of our ancestors
Can confirm, the word is used in Russia too, although rarely.
Same in Afrikaans too👀 En hoe nou!
My grandmother had a two part brooch from the 20s. It was a silver piece that said GEE and a tiny chain connected to another piece that said WIZZ. I asked her where she got it. She said it was on a dress she bought in the 1930s. In hard times they would put free jewelry on dresses to make them more attractive. I HAVE THIS BROOCH TO THIS DAY. And still think about what a new and fresh flapper phrase it once was. AW GEE WIZZ!!!
Got to make that dough, Shes a bit of a Vamp and will suck you dry, Dressing like the Rits, Hes a bit of a ragamuffin, She is a Hot tomato, He is a bit of a wet blanket, selling hot goods, Giving Me Heebie Geebies, Shes definitely got IT, these are all thinks someone from England in there 30s will still say today.
@Brendon Lacroix humans are both fantastic and terrible at the same time
@@-.__328 thats what makes us truly unique. We are capable of creation and destruction unlike any other creature on this planet . But don’t focus on the bad cus theres ALOT of it . Focus on the good of humanity cus thats what true humanity is , helping others and creating a community for all.
Damn man, thats really awesome actually
that sounds like an epic brooch
I first heard "And how!" used by The Little Rascals.
I first heard dough by Bugs Bunny when Fud almost got that inheritance.
Every episode!
aaand how!
“Do you have an account with us?”
“And how!”
What about "the bee's knees"?
It’s amazing how many are still used and recognizable. Good job and how. I would add bootleg to your list. Still watching in 2023.
1920s slang: "You put on quite the ritz my old chap!"
2020s slang: "Why you actin amogus sussy baka poggers bruh"
Anyone talking like the 2020s need an exorcist.
I don't know about 'sussy' but I know that 'amongus' is just a funny word some people use, 'baka' is a japanese word for 'idiot' or 'dumb' it also died off in 2018 or 2019 because I can't find anyone who uses it unironically today, 'poggers' is a word for 'very good' and it became popular with the twitch streamer Tommyinnit.
Slang has never been worse than right now.
No. Nobody says that
@@robintst nah, i don't think so
"Dough" and "Bread" were still common slang in the 1970s. I was born in 1962, and I spent my share of dough trying to make bread.
I used the word dough today
I use bread all day everyday
I got some throw-away bread.
I was boirn in 1970, and I'm pretty sure they are both used. I mean, maybe they are dated, but would a kid today need a TH-cam video to actually explain it?
Yeah, they’re both still common today. I’d say bread is more popular than dough, but I’ve still used and heard both at least once or twice this month
My mum was born in 1924 ... she died in January 2021. She was a treasure trove of memories from by gone times & experiences. ✨💖✨
My mom was 92 when she passed away, she was funny, when someone rang the doorbell she would say "who DAT" and when she and when she picked up the phone she said "who dis" it was great.
@@jokesrcool3737 r.I.p
Life well lived.
@@ccox7198 Really dude? Like...REALLY? Gtfo.
has she kicked the bucket?
The word vamp has had two other meanings over the years. Jazz musicians used it to mean "A short, simple introductory passage", and graffiti artists in '80s New York used to use it to mean mugging someone. There was even a graffiti crew who called themselves The Vamp Squad.
🧛🏿 carti
@@kosovo6280 SLATT
@@kosovo6280 SGP is og vamp
I can see that. Mugging someone isn’t too dissimilar from a vampire sucking someone’s blood. Money being the lifeblood for our survival.
@@LuckyCharms777that’s not what it means
Vamp vamp life or vampin is just a person who up at night and sleeps in the day just like a vampire
Nightlife people
What I wouldn't give for Art Deco to make a comeback.
Same.
too much?
What I wouldn't give for this channel's lame videos to stop appearing in my recommended
Especially the architecture and interior design. One of my favorite places in the world is the Little America hotel in SLC. As soon as you walk in it's like stepping back in time and it's so warm and comfortable even during the rough winter months.
its back
That pic of the “bobbed” hairstyles was wonderful! As a 73YO gal with naturally curly hair - of course I lusted after those straight, smooth styles…but was consigned my entire life with the crimps, curls, swirls and frizz that my now Very Fancy grey hair has lived thru…and triumphed over…Curly Girls Rule!! Thank you for this fun adventure back into “cool speak”!,
I always thought that The Bob was magnificent when styled with curls! Did you ever try to style your hair that way when you were younger?
@@jillian.x..When I was little I wore ponytails and braids to control my hair andI forced my locks straight during the late ‘60’s to have a “Beatle Bob”…thanks to my sister being a hairdresser…and my hair was Shirley Temple quality curly so didn’t have much chance to combine sophisticated smooth, chic hair with Soft, easy curls! My hair is still actually wildly curly - and the humidity in North Carolina adjust is just NOT helping at all!💙
humidity here in n.c. is usually terrible.
That lovely lady was Louise Brooks who starred in some of the most groundbreaking silent films of the era.
bobby pins
anyone else expected footage with audio of the slang? but then you realize its from the 20's and theres rarely any footage with audio...
I did as well.
Linguistics is a fascinating topic. So many of these slang terms still exist today, but have slightly or totally different meanings. This was very Hot and 23 scaddoll.
23 skidoo
Old Karen: Back in my day we didn’t have slang.
1920’s teenager: ok wet blanket
Edit: this comment is a joke, it funny. Stop trying to disprove my claim because there isn’t any.
She probably went to petting parties
@@Hamptino 😅😅😅 yeah a zoo
The 200000000 year old karen
Source?
Exactly 🤦♂️
I have my great grandmothers high school year book and the best part is all the slang terms written by other students "youre the tops" and "to a fellow jitterbug" are my favs- slang through out the years is so interesting
Cool beans!
@@donicaburley9163 my grandma says that all the time
Gracie's a swell! (Meaning someone is rich)
I'm not sure if it's 20's but there isn't nothing like a hootenanny!
How fun!!
“If you don’t know where to go to, why don’t you go where fashion sits. Putting on the Ritz.”
😁
PUDDI’ ONNA REE! Young Frankenstein! The cheesy top 40 hit by Taco ruined it.
Wow, way to fuck up the lyrics.
@@nonameman9291 settle down there cool music nerd. You’re obviously old enough to know the song, yet have the temperament of a basement dwelling duche bag. I was only like 13 when the 80’s remake of this song came out. I was definitely not listening to raído friendly shit, I.e. this song. I simply wrote the first thing closest to this, I remembered at 12-15 years old. You are everything you hate about yourself when you glance at yourself in your mirror. Now go have mommy make you some Mac & cheese. FYI, I’m a history professor, and the 20’s are not my emphasis. You internet nerd.
@@over-educated-sp Ha! The professor also misspells "radio", "douche", and "Internet". Over-educated, indeed.
Funny how 100 years later or so, the 1920's slang words still outperform the 2020's.
“A young adult male”
Otherwise known as a young man
A "moid", if you will.
A premature eldery XY Chromosome individual
@@putridabomination if you must
Thank you, we were all very confused. Jackass.
Theres no need to feel down, i said young adult male
This was reallly cool & informative to me as I take care of patients who were born in the 1920s & 1930s. I used the slang I picked up on this video to them & it’s starts a great conversation about their times being young and growing up! They often remember all the terms and start glowing and reminiscing back to those times..I always end the conversation by telling them they were much cooler back then than we are now and they get a kick out of that & agree with me! 🙂
They think you're hotsy totsy, maybe even the bee's knees for banging on about their heyday
this is the sweetest comment. I hope to be able to do the same. language is really magic
*a Hater of God, Sodo, (Brian McMiLLan) & a DeMonicRat Voter, sent Me, this Message ->*
*Quote=> Discuss it? w. MaryAnn when the Great god Jehovah pairs (R.R.) up on GiL's Isle*
*in the Sky . . . & PLeae seek HeLp!* [ End Quote from the Demo Sodo ]!
*Love the part about JeHoVah GOD Pairing me up with Mary Ann, for ETERnity!!!*
*But, of Course this Demo Sodo was FAKE & You Read its END ReMark!!!*
*NOW YOU KNOW why, in just 3-months, I'LL be Voting Every RePubLiCan on My BaLLot!!!*
Ya then you have to change they’re diapers and stop old grandpa from putting pine sol on his garden Salad because he thought it was olive oil!
I don't understand a lotta of them lol but I noticed them too. I grew up in the 90's but they're so nostalgic, witty and kind of familiar. 😂♥
i will never forget my early childhood. i was born in 1995 and I had the honor and privilege of meeting people born in early 1900s and I remember like yesterday, it was 2002, meeting a woman who was born in 1902. She told me to "keep your ideas open and enjoy living in the future" because we're living in the times she wished she could have. It didn't hit me until recently when i'm in my late 20's to see what she actually meant by that.
I always liked the phrases, "The bees knees" and "The cat's pajamas/meow" meaning to hold something or someone in high esteem. Also the phrase, "I'll say" as in "I'll say she is" meaning emphatically agreeing with someone. "It's a cinch" or "A piece of cake" as in that's easy. "Blow this joint" to leave. "the lowdown" information. "Say" always starts a sentence to emphasize something. As in, "Say, that's a beautiful girl." I really think the '20's and '30's were the birth of slang.
I was thinking that while watching the video that the 1920's was the birth of slang.
23 skadoo
@@ShortBusScotty 23 Skidoo. That was a Policemens term, first used by a Police officer to a bunch of loiterers on, if all places, 23rd St. Meaning, you've got to clear off of 23rd St. No loitering allowed. True story. I was surprised when I first read it. Thought it was way to contrived to be believed, but that is the story. And that's how that frase got born.
How about " take a powder" As in disappear quietly from the Gathering? Call a bathroom a powder room has something to do with that
@zorian. When the Flatiron Building was built at the intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, New York City in 1902, it was discovered that its triangular shape caused a wind tunnel effect at its base that blew women's skirts up almost to their knees--a sight that attracted many a young man to hang around the building hoping to get a glimpse of forbidden body parts such as female ankles and calves!!! Although the expressions "23" and "skiddoo" (both meaning roughly "get outta here" or (another 20's slang term!) "Scram") had arisen separately a few years prior to the building, there's no doubt that the cops used them both in rousting the would-be "mashers" from ogling the free show--hence this apocryphal attribution of the origin of "23 skiddoo"! It sure makes a great story though!!!
The past is a gift, linguistically speaking.
its funny how some slang has stuck around for 100 years
Half the four letter slang words used today are 18th and 19th century
Not really. language evolves. If you could travel back 500 years you'd likely only understand about half the words people spoke. People would think your an ignoramus. Well more people would.
@@apathyguy8338 but the 18th and 19th centuries weren’t 500 years ago 🙄
@@selfishstockton6123 You are correct. My point was today's slang is in tomorrow's dictionary. I don't believe that point is off topic here.
... to 200.
You'll never catch me copper! I ain't talkin' see!
Flatfoot, gumshoe is better sounding
@1tiercel I thought it was another name for a Gman
Seems like most are still in use today. None were unknown.
I didn't know "tomato"... but I've used Peach
I agree. Not sure why he’s acting like these are foreign words. Majority of these are known and still used. Sure not a lot but heard them many times.
Tomato was used in the 1990's crime drama "The Grifters" starring John Cusack, Annette Bening and Angelica Houston, based on the Jim Thompson novel. The Bening character uses it to describe herself. I've heard it rarely used in real life.
Most of the rest of these are in common use to various degrees and I've used them myself. Petting parties was stlll around when I was a young teen in the 1970's but I haven't heard it since. Vamp is pretty unusual. Sheik is only used with respect to the condom of the same name, since we have far more experience with Islamic Arabs than they did then, mostly negative. You did give me the info to understand the title of the play and 1950's film "Come Back Little Sheba" with Burt Lancaster. I've heard Sheba used by some older black men to describe a queenly black woman, by not by younger men. "It" was generally replaced in the 1960's by "charisma" which is still used, though it's echoed in phrases like "She's got it!" and "you've either got it or you don't".
"Keen" is an old one . "Numb skull" is another . "Wise guy" ; "clams" is one I use when dealing with money
@@dc1697 numb skull lol
This video be bussing bruh fr fr no cap🔥🔥💯💯🔥
The 1920s was the era the slang "cool" came into use as well, specifically because of Calvin Cooliage, the 30th American president. Because Calvin was unflappable, aloof, strict, sharp, and stayed out of the political mud, the first part of his last name became a shorthand to refer to someone as steady, smooth, sly, and fashionable.
Thats a very cool fact
Cool . . . beans.
Yo that's cool
I think the Jazz crowd started cool and hip. Makes more sense to me, but I wasn’t there.
No… and at least spell his name right
I once saw a tip jar that had a note on it saying "We knead our dough" I have always thought that was really clever
You exist for your wage, you work for your tip.
People still say "dough", and to a much lesser extent "and how"
Hello Lynn, How are you doing?
I've never heard "and how" being used.
@@rowenkylee5627 it wouldn't be a normal thing to say, but someone may say it in a sarcastic or comedic context
my mum used to call me a ragamuffin when my hair was tangled as a little kid. she was born in 1973.
i say, "and how". lol
I'm a Brit in my 30s - most of these are familiar to me! Many still used in Britain to this day even if they're old-fashioned and might be used more jokingly. I'd never heard glasses called "cheaters" though! Oh, and I've always seen "hock" as "hawk"
1920s: sheik and sheiva
2020s: himbo and bimbo
Chad and Stacy, if you feel so inclined
Yes.
@@MCTogs truly the incel circle of life lmao
Sheba*
Himbo and bimbo has been used since the 80s tho
1920 - “let’s get this dough”
2020 - “let’s get this bread”
1020: *lets get this yeast*
In a few years it's gonna be toast
@@evie402 or sandwich
We got baked
Lets get this starch
“Making whoopee” was still being used on The Newlywed Game and Match Game in the ‘70s.
We can't neglect how later generations alluded back to some of the earlier slang in the comedy of their own time, such as the law firm Dewey, Cheatem & Howe in the Three Stooges.
One of my favs has always been "that's Jake" (roughly translated to "that's cool"), and reintroduced into the 1970s lexicon in the wildly successful movie "The Sting", and mostly used by Robert Redford in dialog.
I’m currently writing a book that takes place in the early 1930s and I find this video to be a blessing
Read books and magazines from that period.
Fun fact regarding the exclamation "and how!" mentioned here:
In German, we have an equivalent exclamation, "und wie!", which is the exact same phrase, translated directly word by word. And it is used in the exact same manner and context.
It has gone out of fashion over the past few decades, but it is still very recognizable and doesn't sound off to a German speaker.
Now that I think about it in Polish it would sound something like 'A jak! ' or 'A jakże!'
To add onto the polish guy's comment:
Southern Slavic languages have this too. We say
"И то како!"
Or alternatively we use the full variation of the middle word to get
"И тоа како!"
We like to shorten words a lot so the first one would probably be more common.
also we have the word "verhökern" which directly translates to the slang word "hock". And it is also used as slang.
I wonder if we adapted the american phrases, or if the influences came by german ancestors. I fear we will never know :D
Interestingly there's a similar Spanish (or at least Mexican) expression, "Y que?" which roughly means "so [what]?"
And how!....conjures up Moe, Larry, Curly...And Shemp
My Grandma was born in 1910, left us in 1981. She would still say "Well, she just thinks she's the cat's pajamas." She taught my mom how to dance the Charleston in the kitchen in the 1950's. I so miss the old folks...
My Mom (born in the 30's) used the term cat's meow quite a bit. Staying power.
Most were racist and anti diversity.
@@chamade166 And here we go. I knew it'd be posted somewhere.
@@chamade166 go back in your little hole
Me, too! My grandmother raised me. She never knew how much she meant to me.
It is so interesting how plenty of these are still used today
I though the phrase “wet blanket” came from how uncomfortable a wet blanket would be, it being wet turned it from being soft comfortable and warm into something wet and cold. I just imagined a wet blanket among normal blankets, or laying in a bed and getting a wet blanket instead of a dry one. I guess I haven’t really thought about it since I was a kid.
Or in England you could call a person “moist” meaning weak, soggy, soft. Great slang is great and sticks because they transcend many multiple implications and shows our gift of abstract communication which is exclusively the way our human species communicates
“Abstract communication” is not “exclusively the way our human species communicates.” We also communicate directly with language, not just abstractly.
Trekkie Junk language is made up of abstract clusters called words. Each word is made up of abstract symbols called letters. Context further ads to the flexibility abstraction makes of them. Like saying
“The tree has no bark.”
Or “the dog has no bark”
@@trekkiejunk I think the point is that language itself is abstract, it can be used to convey concrete things but really the true power of it is that it can be used to describe anything, whether it exists concretely or not, and as concretely or abstractly as one may want. Although furthermore, I think you misinterpreted "exclusively the way our human species communicates" as it being the exclusive way we communicate, when I think he more likely meant that we, exclusively, communicate using language in such a manner, as opposed to any other species.
Sheep44 Dialect also evolves slowly throughout, and the youth using their slang as apart of newer language that feels timely and like their own and adopting a updated dialect to communicate with their peers and know whose familiar. That flexibility allows for such communication breakdowns and restructures to go on. “Water needs to flow to stay fresh” ☯️👈
I was born in the late 60s, all of these are not new to me and I think other than the people born after 1990s are easily recognized. These slang words have lasted longer than slang of today Slang of today goes out fashion in years not decades and decades. Good video!
Bully for you!
@@robertkees6048 lol
Very true. I know all these and I was born late in the 70s. Some are still used today. While Gen Z is making up new ones.
I was born in the early 50s & as teens we used mostly all these idioms. Except tomato & sheik. Queen of Sheba was an insult about another female that thought they were hot. I just called someone a ragamuffin a few days ago.
@@maureen9115 ragamuffin was used a lot by my parents and aunts and uncles. Us kids looked like a bunch of ragamuffins to them evidently.
"You know I believe, and how!"
- The Beatles 1969
The Three Stooges were often saying pretty much that. Especially the "and how" part.
@@peaceonearth8693 😎
Specifically, George Harrison.
Paul loved his father's old (1920s) records, and they would often play & sing the tunes.
Yep!
Why do the early 1900's fascinate me so much? 1900 to the late 1930's....
@@canskasapaemanon708 Maybe not this song so much but that era... Were we there or in some strange way tied to it? That time does pull me. One of life's mysteries... Take care friend...
It’s hard to think my grandma lived through the 1920’s and is still here....
Talk to her as much as you can. She is a book of knowledge that won't be around forever.
I can't believe Louis Armstrong was already popular, and had a hit with Heebie Jeebie in 1926. He lived a long amazing life.
Good for you, all mine are dead. Thanks for making my night pal.
Cherish the time.
@@steviestuff1319 I just found this video again, it’ll be hard to because she speaks Cantonese and I don’t, but she’s still going strong at 97.
I didn’t know “wet blanket” was so old! It may not be used as commonly as in the 1920s, but it’s still used in the present. 😊
It goes back at least to 1798.
“Looking like a vamp, like a video queen” Def Leopard
"Lookin like a tramp, like a video vamp"*
But i seen culture runs through you
I like seeing the footage of Buster Keaton, one of the GREATS of the silent film era. Both he and Charlie Chaplin lived to see a resurgence of appreciation of their artful work during the 1960s. Many, many silent films are WORTH watching. Thank you.
I love seeing Harold Lloyd clips. definitely one of my favorite silent film actors, his talkies were good too.
Me too! I love both his silent movies and his sound movies!
Fun fact, Conway Twitty's birth name was Harold Lloyd Jenkins, and was named after the HL the actor.
This was so long ago. My granny was born in the 20s. Sadly we don't have much time left with her but that period was so long ago yet still quite modern in many ways
This made me feel ancient lol. As a “War” baby..: I heard these terms all the time. In the Deep South a lot of these are still very much in use. This was a charming video... thanks.
I'm not dismissing your suggestion, but as a southern Mississippian, I can't recall many of these being used at all. Of course, the deep south can be referring to many other areas as well, so this could be a regional thing.
Off the subject, I remember the term "and how" being used in the 90's rendition of "The Little Rascal's" and I was very confused at this response that Darla gave to Alfalfa.
@@ReasonBeing25 Hey Mark... I am from New Orleans.... any deeper South and I’ll be neck deep in the Gulf lol. I may also be older than you. New Orleans is such a melting pot and we have always had people traveling through from the North and Europe so out language structure is a bit different than most Southern cities. We still use bastardized French.... silver paper-tin foil... make groceries-going to the store.... Shoop de shoo- Merry go round .... banket-sidewalk and our beloved neutral ground- the meridian. I could spend all day on this subject... New Orleans will is a world of its own. Be blessed
@@pixiestyx1766 I was just there this weekend at the Pontchartrain Civic center. Small world.
I still say "and how" practically every day. I never thought it was all that outdated lol
@@jiveassturkey8849 the slang is out of date no cap
My impression is that "ragamuffin" only referred to poor children, never to adults. Also, his name may have always been spelled "Louis" Armstrong but it was always pronounced "Louie".
Rag-a-muffin is definitely a child wearing rag-like clothes. Louie is just the shortened, knick-name of the formal Louis. The city St. Louis is often called St. Louie.
@@tallboy2234 It wouldn’t sound remotely formal to pronounce the name of any of the kings of France called ‘Louis’ as ‘Lewis’ when it should be ‘Loo-ee’. Louis Spence, Louis Theroux and Louis Walsh are British and Irish celebrities who are always called ‘Loo-ee’, it’s only in America where ‘Louis’ is normally pronounced ‘Lewis’ (though ‘Louis Armstrong’ is occasional called ‘Lewis’ outside of America by people who are consciously trying to pronounce his name in the way that he, himself, said it.).
@@tallboy2234 'Louie' is also the original French pronunciation of the name
That's because it's French.
But when he sings he himself pronounces it Lewis.
I didn't know how old "Heebie Jeebies" was.
My mom would say that and she's born in the late 60's. I say it sometimes myself.
It’s crazy how far american language has come
I still use it. Was born in the 60s
As I understand heebie jeebies was a sickness or illness from bad bootleg liquor 🥃 back in prohibition
Heebie-Jeebies was my Mom’s expression, and she was born in the ‘20s🤔
"Vamp" was short for "vampire", a folkloric creature that can drain a human of his/her "vital essence" and subsume them to its will--and if that isn't love, as the song goes, it will have to do... Thanks for the great video; the visual elements especially!
I've first heard the term "vamp" when they were referring to Theda Barra.
Also made popular by Sonny and Cher of a more recent era.
I'm 65, but grew up with collectible 78's, play the ukulele, love B&W movies, and studied Tin Pan Alley songsters.
Nothing new for me, but great to see!
"Wet Blanket" is still pretty common today.
Are you sure
Used alot in grappling / wrestling
okay boomer
idk why everyone is replying saying “not so much.” I have called people a wet blanket and heard it used commonly my whole life. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
I've never heard 'Wet Blanket' before watching this video.
A couple phrases my aunt used to use, e.g., “she laid him out in lavender”. Hollered at him. I found out later this stemmed from lining coffins with lavender.
Another was “Oh! I feel ( or look) like I’ve been pulled through a knothole backwards”. It always cracked me up envisioning it.
Never heard of the 1st one but mom always said the 2nd alot. Lol
here in England I've heard my grandmother exclaim I "look like I were dragged through a hedge backwards". A knothole is way more interesting and inventive though!
@@AdamOwenBrowning Hedge is pretty descriptive though! Sort of describes me after I’ve been out in the garden!
@@AdamOwenBrowning "Looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards" is what my mum used to tell me from when I was a little lad until I was in my 20s. As an Australian born in the mid 1960s we used a lot of English slang.
To 2023 ears, "laid him out in lavender" implies homosexuality.
3:28 "And how!" There was a law firm in one of the 3 Stooges films from the 1930s named Dewey, Cheatum and Howe.
Wise guy, eh?
I was born in the 40s but I actually still use most of these today
Interestingly, "and how!" still exists in Brasil, translated as "e como!", and it have the same meaning and usage and shown on the video.
And in many other languages
'And how' is still around; the only one of these I doubt is still in common use is 'cheaters'
So even in the 1920's people described parties as "fire" and "lit"
But cool and hot can mean the same thing.
@@VndNvwYvvSvv now you’re on the trolley
Yes this generation didnt make up anything new lot of slang is older than you may think.
@@VndNvwYvvSvv yep, it's up to you which one you use. Also, it's down to you which one you use.
"Lit" lasted a few decades back then but it meant being drunk.
*"The human brain is the most complex structure in the whole entire universe"*
_-Human Brain._
d e e p
The universe is a structure; a construct of spacetime, matter, energy, dark matter, dark energy, and the laws of physics.
@@tristanblackford7903 dark matter and energy are just filler words until we find what they actually are or what causes them.
@@5people829 that does not affect the validity of my statement.
people unless they are simply products of some physical law such as gravity is, then I guess I'm being redundant.
Thanks, youre doing a great job with these videos. It helps me understnd my grandparents era from long ago.
Sheik: Rizz.
Putting on the Ritz: Drip.
Whoopee: Vibin'.
Slang in the 20s: “My goodness! What a sheik, I would certainly spend my dough on him!”
Slang in the 90s: “Woah, bro! He is one tubular dude! I’d splash some cash on him!”
Slang in the 2020s: "OMG, WTF! He's such a Chad, I'd spend all my V-bucks on him!"
i dont think people said tubular in the 90s
@@jeremy8473 what do you mean brooo, don’t be such a party popper.You’re just tense cause you haven’t got laid
@purgemen ….
@purgemen shut up bro way to put on a wet blanket.
But fr brighten up bro you're watching the same video dont get your panties in a knot
Interestingly, in czech we use the phrase "A jak!" in the same way "And how!" was used. It literally translates to "and how" too.
we have it in Russian too, it sounds like "A kak!", or "i kak!", but it very rarely used on its own, usually you would want to put a verb that relates to the topic right after the expression
What a...really NICE video! Thank you. Many of these slang terms were used by us hippies in the 1960s and onward, because we liked old-time things and related better to our flapper grandmothers than to our Betty Crocker mothers. That clip of Felix the Cat getting drunk was a treat-- another thing brought back and cherished by the young Boomers was this early pre-Disney cartoon style. Super cool. (Mickey was a mouse because Felix had the cat market cornered by the time Disney came around.) We hippies were rebelling against plastic, which was '60s slang for fake, contrived, antiseptic kitsch... ironic because our flapper grandmothers thought plastic, brand new, was the bees' knees.
I grew up in the 80s so "puttin' on the ritz" to me was a song by Taco
I grew up in the 70s, I also remember "Young Frankenstein" th-cam.com/video/ab7NyKw0VYQ/w-d-xo.html
I didn’t know Mexican cuisine sang in the 1980s
it was Written by Irving Berlin, Sung by Peter Boyle and Taco.
Because we have no record of earlier use of the expression.
NGL. Tacos version is pretty dope.
King Tut's tomb was discovered in the early 20's and I think that had a huge influence on the culture in America and worldwide. The Sheik of Araby was also a hugely popular song in 1921/1922 which was later covered numerous times well into the 30s and 40s.
The Beatles also covered Shiek of Araby for their Decca Records audition!
Sheik was just the 20’s version of a chad
not the same meaning
A "hanging" chad?
I knew everyone of these. I'm 62, my parents are 89. Thus, my grandparents used these expressions.
Yes! All of them 😂
"and how" is used here in Brazil. But we say it in portuguese, of course. "E como!"
There's also the very common French "Et comment!".
also in Germany it is used as "und wie!"
And in Dutch "en hoe!"
@@everope how dare you! please censor your vampy comment.
in Italy we have "eccome!"
it's weird because "and how!" is still used in Brazil translated literally as "e como!" and have the same meaning in english
The truly funny thing is I'm only 52 and yet I've used almost every one of these slang terms my entire life.......my grandparents on both sides were born in the 1890's and my parents were born in 1928 and 1930, and I was the last one of seven total children. Mom was 38 and dad was 40 when I came along. My oldest sister is 19 years older than I.
I guess you could say my family is an old family and I grew up hearing and being taught all the old phrases and slang!
@Katelynne Shouse: Same here with the 1920s slang! I'm also in my early 50s and my parents (of blessed memory) were born in 1929 and 1934...I remember my mother singing gems such as "Jeepers, Creepers, Where'd You Get Those Peepers?" to me and my siblings when we were little. 💕
I'm 62 and have the same situation, but my folks were born in 1920\22. I was the last born with mom at 40.
I've honestly heard every single one of these used in regular conversation during my life. I think language doesn't change as much as you think it does.
Some of this slang - such as “cheaters” - is regionalized slang. It’s also worth noting that a lot of this slang would not have been used everywhere during the time.
Rural areas might use different slang for the same thing or might not have a slang term for the thing.
some rural areas still kind of have their own slang but its not the same as it was
I don't think of "cheaters" as regionalized, the phrase was commonly used in movies, into the talking picture area and beyond, so it would have been in common usage across North America, although whenever I've heard it, it specifically refers to sunglasses, not regular eyeglasses. In that sense, you're trying to hide your eyes, or perhaps even disguise yourself, which is where the "cheating" comes into play.
@@moxievision
I hate to be the one to break this to you but Nth America IS a 'region', ergo slang the usage of which is limited to Nth America IS regionalised.
Contrary to popular American insular opinion, the USA / Nth America is NOT 'the world'.
'Regionalised' means that it's used only in particular 'regions' - ie not everywhere.
Why say exactly the same thing 3 times?!
@@trueaussie9230, what do you call a family selling items on their property for quick cash?
Where I’m from, it’s called a “Yard sale.”
"Hot" is still - or is now again - THE most common slang word for stolen
A stolen *item*
@@BlueShadow777 if you are attempting to correct me about what would be an oh so subtle technicality, I don't believe the correction is necessary because due to its fallacious nature. 'Hot', even in slang from now and 100 years ago is an adjective. Never a noun, which it would have to be in order to be referring to the actual items. It refers to a quality of the items. I welcome a good argument or proof that I'm wrong. Also I apologize if I totally misread your comment
Slang terms used in specific circles or specific purposes don’t change much over the years and terms that many people use change more rapidly. So a “hot car” can mean “stolen car” for a hundred years but no one has said a drunk person was “tight” since your grandparents were born
@@timotheoszmudski4426 can you use “hot” in a sentence in context to what you explained? I’m not sure I’ve heard hot used for something that was stolen.
@@JetteSwan wow that's crazy counter intuitive
I heard dough and daily bread in my family all the time growing up. This was the 80s to 90s
The term “Cheater” is still used in the welding trade, a cheater is a magnified lense inserted into your helmet to magnify what is seen, typically used by older welders with bad eyesight.
We’re roaring back 100 years. So stoked